Current Information:

Age-28

23, Glenister Road, East Greenwich

Corbie Communal Cemetery, Somme

The Battle of the Somme (July-November, 1916)

By the beginning of August the Battle of the Somme had been raging for a full month. Thousands of men had already been killed or wounded or were simply missing, never to be seen again and and just a few square miles of the French countryside, all in the southern part of the battlefield, had been captured from the enemy. Mistakes had been made by the various commanders and would be continued to be made but there was no turning back as the British, Australians, South Africans, New Zealanders and Canadians carried on battering away at the German defences in the hope of a breakthrough, So it continued all the way through to November with nearly every battalion and division then in France being drawn into it at some stage. In the end the German trenches had been pushed back a few more miles along most of the line but the cost in lives had been staggering. By the end of the fighting in November, 1916, British Army casualties numbered over 400,000, killed, wounded and missing.

24th Division arrived on the Somme during the last week of July, 1916. 9th East Surrey of 72 Brigade were kept busy training behind the line at Morlancourt and Meaulte until ordered up to reserve trenches about a mile south-west of Guillemont and a mile north-east of Carnoy on 10th August.  On 16th August, 9th East Surrey attacked a German strongpoint just south of the Trones Wood-Guillemont track. This attack was a complete failure and very costly as well after which the survivors were relieved and moved back to Montauban. But this respite was short lived.  On 18th August they moved up to the Briqueterie in support of 73 Brigade and three days later on 21st August they moved to the front line trenches at Guillemont, vacated by 8th Queens when they attacked the Quarries. They remained in these positions until relieved during the course of the next day. As always, the German shelling of the British lines and the communication trenches leading up to them, was constant and fierce and 9th East Surrey sustained twenty casualties during the course of these two days. On 22nd August the battalion were relieved and moved back to Fricourt and then Dernancourt before moving to billets in Ribémont. Albert Francis died of wounds on 23rd August but there is no information regarding in which of these incidents he was wounded.